Project focused on the complex, non-linear, recursive, unpredictable and largely tacit phenomena of leadership, creativity and innovation in the moment.

Despite decades of study, theorization and modelling, the moment-to-moment unfolding of these processes, the micro-heart of leadership, creativity and innovation, remains an unexplored black box. The “moments of significance” (MOS) – those turning and tipping points crucial to outcomes where leadership and innovation bloom or fade – remain to researchers and practitioners, invisible despite our sensing of their presence. The objective of the project InnoTracing was to develop a user-configurable software tool (InnoTrace) and a portfolio of new social science methodologies (InnoTracing) to make invisible MOS visible. The tool InnoTrace affords participants the ability to capture their individual perceptions of MOS through photograph, video, text and sound documentation options. Furthermore, the method InnoTracing makes this form of process analysis available for further use through sound methodological grounding in empirical social sciences.

The overall aim was to empower participants and researchers of leadership and innovation processes to contribute and learn from their perceptions of leadership and innovation from moment-to-moment.

Main research outputs:
Lundberg, H. Sutherland, I. Blažek, P., Penzenstadler, B. Habicht, H. (2015). The emergence of creativity, innovation and leadership in microlevel social interactions and how to research it. International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management, 5(4). 221-232.